Automated Phone Systems

[vp44]

I received a check out of the blue for child support. My daughter is 28, so it's a little late.

I tried calling the Child support office, got an automated system. Which sent me to another automated system. Which sent me to another automated system!

After 3 days of trying to get to a person, I gave up.

It's the same thing when I call the phone company, or the electric company.

What happened to talking to a person???

Ways around that is press the operator button, then you can route your call to whom you want to speak to. If that does not work press a button and see if you get someone on the line and explain your situation.

[lbeery]

I agree with the automated system.  My bigges problem with them is that you listen for so long that you forget which one you were supposed to key in.  I have found that with a lot of systems, you can press "0" at some point and get to a live person.  SOmetimes though when you tell them what you need they put you right back into the automated system! Grrrr!

[ShadeTree]

Outsourcing and greed is what happened to talking to a real person. But I have also found that even when you finally do get an actual person on the other end of the line, they end up not being much either. That's not always the case, but it does happen. And it's hard to deal with an actual person that either can't understand what you're asking them or you can't understand what they're saying or they just don't really know what they're doing and of course you're already irritated by this time after all the nonsense of button pushing and having to start over or getting disconnected etc because automated systems are stupid. 

[aflyingmonkey]

I don't know if this applies to your case or not, but what i know of child support cases is that the other parent who is supposed to be paying the child support owes that money forever.  So if they stop working & the state can't collect or they miss a payment they forever owe it.   So when they start working again, the state will take the funds out of their check automatically & reimburse you the payment due from however long ago.     I know the state will also collect money due if the state had to pay welfare on the child because the secondary parent was a deadbeat.   As soon as that parent ever goes back to work, they owe that money & the state will collect it.   

Like taxes, the government will forever collect on the debt.